UNIONS REJECT GOVT RESPONSE OVER WAGES POLICY, ROW CONTINUES

ZAGREB, Jan 23 (Hina) - A row continued on Tuesday between Croatian trade union bloc and the government, over the government's decision to restrict wages in state-run companies. The bloc, comprising seven trade union federations, forwarded its demand to the government on Jan 12, urging it to shelve the decision. The government however replied on Wednesday (Jan 17), saying it had made the decision "in order to keep wages within real productivity", and that "these limits do not impinge on the setting of distribution criteria by collective negotiations". The unions rejected the government response on Tuesday, saying in the statement that the government had kept avoiding the negotiations, "averted to make itself clear on a series of questions related to workers' standard" and turned the blind eye on the unions' demands that the wages and other workers' rights be regulated by the collective agreements. "The Croatian government says it is ready to start negotiations for collective agreements, but still puts limits in advance to its positions, by freezing the wages. This way it actually deters the negotiations in violation of unions' right to lead collective negotiations, guaranteed by Constitution and international conventions." The trade union bloc also recalled that "the state and its ministries are major debtors in the national economy," and criticized the government for its failure to "envisage (in the draft national budget for 1996) an urgent and unconditional making up of the last year's debts of the state, in order to save hundreds of businesses." (Hina) bk 232016 MET jan 96